Paternal Instincts
by spiderwriters
Summary: A rewrite of That's My Dad, That's My Son. "If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent." -Bette Davis. That goes without saying, especially after you try to reconnect with your son after ten years. Even more so when you find out that he's Spider-Man and you've been trying to kill him for almost a year.
1. Chapter 1

**Yet another rewrite of the story, let's see if this ever gets past chapter 4.**

It had been a little over a week since the oil tanker exploded off of the shores of New York City. The explosion had caused Flint Marko, the Sandman, to be turned into glass. Yes, he had been one of the city's worst super villains, but in the final moments of his life, he had sacrificed it for the sake of those he had accidentally put in harm's way, and he had even saved the super hero's life as well. It was slightly eerie seeing the glassy statue of the man be removed from the bay, piece by piece. He had been a living breathing- well maybe not breathing in his sand form at the time- person. Needless to say, the turn of events had been an unexpected one and had left the formerly red and blue clad hero with a lot on his mind. But right now, with the crime rate as low as it was right now, it gave the teenage hero plenty of time to think.

One of the things that repeatedly crossed Spider-Man's mind was whether or not Sandman had managed to survive the blast. He wondered that if there was enough of Sandman under the water, out of reach of the glass creating explosion that he could have gotten away. If he did survive, when would he show himself again? He just hoped that his next appearance wasn't going to be with the sinister six.

It seemed as though the answer to the question that had been hanging most on the wall crawler's mind was finally answered. Spidey had perched himself on a rooftop of one of New York's buildings, taking a small breather after stopping a carjacking. He tugged on his backpack, peeling it off the wall, and yanking the webbing off of it. Digging into his bag, be pulled out an energy bar. The mouth of his black suit opened up as he took a couple of lackadaisical bites of his snack.

 _Man it sure is nice to have quiet nights like these_. Spidey thought to himself.

 ** _Just wait until the sun goes down, then scum of the Earth will begin to crawl out. They're like cockroaches._** The voice at the back of his head said.

Peter inwardly sighed. That voice was right, or at least, it seemed that way. That was why the captivating sunset bathing the city in a golden glow was such a bitter sweet sight. The lights flicking on in the skyscrapers gave the city an even more alluring glow. It hearkened back to a memory he had of his childhood of catching fireflies, long before his mother had passes, long before he was forced into the system and bouncing from one family to another and the unpleasant memories that came with it.

 _ **The world always takes the best things from us, doesn't it?**_

Before he could reply to the simbiote, Peter felt the familiar tingling of his spider sense coming from the back of his neck. Someone was behind him. Spider-Man spun around and was met face to face with Sandman.

"I had a feeling that that explosion wouldn't be the end of you." Spidey said.

Spidey's adrenaline was pumping. He was ready for a fight at any second, but his spider sense wasn't going off anymore.

 _He's not attacking?_

 ** _He's probably trying to get us to let our guard down. I wouldn't trust a thing he says to_ _us._**

Sandman rubbed the back of his neck and snorted. "Let me tell ya, it wasn't a fun feeling having half of your body getting melted into glass in that explosion."

 _ **Good. With all he's put us through, he deserved it.**_

 _Sure he's tried to kill us, on several occasions, but he did save us after all._

Spider-Man hesitated before speaking. "Yeah, I bet. You know if you hadn't of done what you had done, me and a lot of those men would have felt that explosion and not have lived."

There was a strange twist in his stomach. He'd never been saved by anyone else before. He was the one who did the saving. It was strange to think that despite their history, Sandman would save him from a horrible fate. It also made thanking him feel all the more strange and out of place. But Spider-Man felt that some form of a thank you was in order, after all, Sandman could have easily let him go up with the oil tanker as well.

"I wasn't no big deal." Sandman said, brushing off the attempted thanks. "It was all my fault anyhow. Besides, I just thought that you were one of those workers, so don't be getting any ideas of me getting soft and saving your webbed butt on purpose."

Spiderman nodded a faint smile on his lips beneath his mask. Of course, he should have known Flint better than that. At least he got the general idea of what he was trying to say.

 _Maybe he has changed, at least a little. Eh, it's a start._

 ** _Are you kidding? Him- change? People don't change that easily, especially those who have tried to murder us._**

"I would never dream of it. Besides, I figured it was a mistake, especially after all the times you and your buddies tried to kill me." Spidey joked.

Sandman slowly nodded. "Yeah, well, like I said, don't get no ideas that I've gone soft or nothing. That's the only reason why I'm here was to make that clear to ya. You understand? After this, things go back to the way they were."

 _ **Of course, we were right.**_

 _I guess a tiger really doesn't change their stripes after ll._

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Spidey said.

As if on cue, the familiar sounds of a jewelry store alarm started ringing. Spidey gave Sandman a salute, signaling the end of the temporary goodwill. The hero managed to catch a slight grin and nod from Sandman as he dove off the roof, ready to stop the attempted robbery.

* * *

Sandman shook his head after the young hero disappeared from his sight. That guy was never going to stop with the wise cracks. He must have driven his parents crazy when he was younger. Flint didn't know what he would have done if he had a smart mouth like that as a kid. He'd probably would have rolled his eyes so often that they would have been able to freely spin around on their own. It was then that Flint felt a twinge in his chest and stomach. He thought back to the memories of his son.

It had been so long since he had seen him. One of the last memories he had of his son was at his mother's out in the country. He, his son, and his son's mother had spent a long weekend escaping the city. He remembered the sight of his four year old's eyes lighting up when he saw the fireflies dance in the warm summer night air. Too bad things like that couldn't last forever.

It was all on him though. Had he not desperately wanted that big score, he wouldn't of wound up in jail for three years. By the time he had gotten out Mary had already met and married another guy. After doing time in the slammer, the girl that he had known had changed. She became a different person, not only in personality, but changing her name and their son's name as well. Mary felt it best that with his recent track record it would be best for Flint not to be in their son's life. After all, what would the influence of having a father who would be constantly going in and out of a jail the way a cop went in and out of a doughnut shop do to the psyche of their son? Flint, unfortunately, agreed with Mary's decision and distanced him from his son and former girlfriend.

But that had been ten, eleven years ago. Perhaps after all of this time, it was time to check in on his son. After all a lot can happen during a decade.

* * *

Sandman made his way back towards the new base. After Spidey had taken out the Master Planner's underwater layer, everyone had evacuated to a reserve safe house. The new building was hidden under an old abandoned warehouse in Harlem. It wasn't as technologically advanced as the underwater layer, but it was enough to house the sinister six and company.

Flint walked into the warehouse. He pressed passed the old rusted machinery and found a particular rusted control panel. Sandman flipped one of the side panels open and pushed a button. The grated floor slid open with an almost ear piercing screech, revealing a ladder that headed into a deep abyss. Sandman slipped into a sandy form and landed at the bottom of the ladder and reformed into his normal shape. He loved being able to take shortcuts like that. After waking down the series of access tunnels the familiar hand scanner came into sight. He placed his hand on the scanner, allowing the blue light to wash over his hand. There was a buzz and the metallic door in front of him slid open.

Rhino was sitting on a couch in the common room. He looked up from the television lethargically. He must have been expecting someone else, because as soon as it registered in his head, that Sandman was not the man he thought was going to come through the door, he sat up.

"Flint, I thought yous was dead." Rhino said.

Sandman snorted. "Thanks for your faith in me. But I'm alive and well. Hey, is the Doc here?"

Rhino gestured his head towards one of the doors on the back wall. "He's in his lab messing with stuff with the tinkerer or somethin. I don't know. Why?"

"I was wondering if he could help me find someone." Sandman said.

Rhino raised an eyebrow. "Who are you wanting him to find."

The two of them had gone way back. When he was in his early twenties and had just started working for the Big Man, Alex had been his partner in crime. Over the years they had found out quite a bit about each other. The fact that he had a son was no new news to Alex.

"My son." Flint confessed.

"Do you think that's a good idea after what happened last time you saw him?" Rhino asked.

Flint shrugged. "I dunno. He's older now. Maybe Mary will let me talk to him, at least once."

Alex gave him a skeptical look. He seemed to be mulling things over. Sure the rest of the villains thought that Alex was all muscle and no brain, but the big brute could be quite insightful when the time came. There had even been times where his quick thinking had kept them out of trouble when they had run into big pinches during a few of their jobs.

"Yeah, that might have worked before when we were just goons for the Big Man, but things changed when we became super villains. You had a hard time just with you just bumping into her before. I don't know how well it's going to go over if she knows that you're Sandman." Rhino pointed out.

With that said, Flint felt a twist in his stomach. Alex was right. There was no way Mary was going to let him see him now. But maybe if he found out where he lived, perhaps she would let him send a letter, use his real name to keep the fact that he was Sandman from his son. At least his son would know that his father was out there and did care, that he just kept his distance for his well being.

Flint nodded, "You're right, which is why-" with this, Flint's features morphed, making him look like a completely different man. "-I'm going to look like this when I see my kid."

Rhino shrugged. "Have it your way. Just don't be too disappointed if this whole thing doesn't work out the way you planned."

Flint rolled his eyes and changed back to his normal self. With that, he took a deep breath and headed into the lab. The door slid shut behind him and Otto glanced up in his direction. There was the feint hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Ah, Sandman. Good to see that the blast has not put an end to you. It would have put quite the damper on the plans that I had been working on." The doctor said.

Sandman nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess that would. But, ah, I have a favor to ask of ya."

Otto raised one of his eyebrows as one of his tentacles went to work tightening a screw on a nearby machine, and asked, his voice full of skepticism, "And what would that be?"

"You're still connected to the computer network in the city right?" Flint asked.

Otto's tentacles stopped their work for a brief moment. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Well after the accursed Spider-Man had ruined my grand layer, most of our servers were destroyed with it. We still have a few servers here, but I don't have the same amount of access as I did before. But what do you need me to do?" Doc Ock asked.

There was something in the way Otto had said that, that nearly name Flint shiver. He knew better than to show any signs of weakness around the mad genius though. He couldn't have him thinking he was weak- especially now after the oil tanker fiasco.

"I need you to find someone for me." Flint stated.

Otto's face twisted into an interested smile, "Oh, and who is that you want me to find?"

Flint took a deep breath. Once he opened this can of worms, he was never going to be able to close it. Sure it could be used as leverage against him, but Flint was so desperate, he didn't care about the consequences.

"My son." Flint finally said.


	2. Chapter 2

**I posted the wrong first chapter, please go back and reread it if you have not.**

* * *

The alarm for the jewelry store blared across the city block. Shards of glass still rained down from the shattered storefront as Spidey webkicked through it, sending a large unsuspecting robber into two of his cohorts.

"Oh come on fellas."

Spider-Man slid on the floor through, webbing the face of a lanky robber as he slid under his legs. Spider-Man yanked on his webs sending the lanky man face planting into the ground. The bag of jewelry the man had went flying out of his hand, scattering its contents.

"Robbing a jewelry store, wow, how cliche?"

Feeling his spider sense go off, he kicked up into the air and spun around, facing in the direction of the threat - a gunman. Acting on pure instinct, Spidey shot a web at the armed robber's hand. The robber's eyes had barely started to grow wide with realization before Spider-Man yanked him into his direction.

"Aw man, how come I never get to fight any guys with arachnophobia?"

Still mid air, the webhead stuck out his legs and kicked the incoming gunman. Bouncing off of the gunman's chest, he soared over the three robbers he had initially knocked down, and sent out a burst of webs to pin them down.

The loud rhythmic beating of his heart rang in his ears as he ensured that the webbing on the robbers held tight. His skin on the back of his neck was tingling, but not in the way it did when his spider sense went. This wasn't a sense that something was going to happen for sure, but it was a sense that something was about to go wrong. Maybe it was something that was going to happen at the end of this robbery, or with some other aspect of his life, but Peter knew something was night right, not at all.

* * *

Otto stared at Flint for a moment. There was a small smirk at the corner of his mouth that made Flint feel uneasy. His chest was tight. Had he made the wrong decision in asking this? Maybe Alex was right, maybe this was going to be worse than he had originally thought. Finally, the smile had spread across the mad scientist's lips.

"Interesting to hear such news Marko." Otto said.

The way he said those words with that smile made Flint's blood run cold.

Flint rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know. I've just lost touch with him is all. Figured he was old enough for that, so I figured, why not."

Otto's goggles had caught the lights from above, causing them to be nearly impossible to see into. All Flint could see was a darkened gaze of the scientist that was pouring over every tidbit of information - for what, a variety of things probably. But if Flint had to guess, Otto was trying to figure out how to work his son into being his greatest weapon against him.

"Are you sure this doesn't have to do with you saving Spider-Man from that oil tanker?" Doc Ock asked.

Sandman tightened up a bit. There was no way he was going to let these guys know he had actually saved the spider on purpose. Great, now if they ever suspect that he's gone soft on webhead, they could end up using his kid against him.

"No way. Besides, I was just trying to get those other guys off the boat. I didn't mean to grab the web head. Trust me, if I had been paying attention, I would have let the bug roast alive if I coulda." Flint lied.

Otto scanned him for a brief moment. Flint wondered if he had bought it. He hoped he had.

"All I need to know is that when we try to take out the little pest again, that you are not going to have another one of your change of hearts. So help me Marko, if you mess up my plan, I will end you." Otto growled.

Sandman nodded slowly. His heart pounded in his chest. Otto may have not been the most intimidating of people when it came to a physical fight, but he was a mad genius who could figure out a way that would make so he would no longer exist without a moment's hesitation. And he thought Otto's plans for murder were terrifying even when he was in them; it was even more terrifying of a thought to potentially be his target.

"I understand. Don't worry about it. When the time comes, I'll help you take care of the bug." Flint said.

Otto nodded, that same grin working at the corner of his lips. "Good. Now, if that will be all, I'm quite busy."

* * *

Spidey landed on the brick wall beside his bedroom window. He peered inside, making sure that it was empty before opening the window. Spider-Man winced as the old window squeaked as his grinned against the window seal. He couldn't afford to be caught sneaking in, not now. Not with so many super villains on the lose. He jumped through his window, his suit retreating mid flip, and landed silently.

Peter's suit retreated beneath his street clothes as he set his bag down at his desk.

 _Home sweet home_. Peter thought to himself solemnly.

 ** _Home sweet group home you mean - place where they put unwanted people like us. And we're never getting out of here._**

Peter felt a pang in his stomach. It felt like a hopeless situation, but he needed to hold onto that small last sliver of hope he had left. It wasn't much, but a dream like that had the power to move mountains.

 _We might get out of here - someday._

 ** _It would have happened a long time ago if that were the_ case.** _**No one will ever want us.**_

That hit a little close to home and made Peter's stomach twist.

 _Maybe there's someone out there who would-_

 _ **-want to take in someone who's going to turn 17 in a couple of months.**_

That felt like a punch from the Rhino right to the chest. He felt like he was slipping into a thick muck, pressing down on him. It felt like he was suffocating as the muck felt like it had somehow slipped inside his chest. Peter's body started to feel icy as time started to slow down. It felt like he was losing control of his consciousness, feeling slightly out of body- like someone else was starting to take over. Still feeling partially in control as his suit came back out, Peter opened his window back up back into the city.

Spider-Man's body hit this equilibrium with the other force in his head, giving his consciousness an airy feeling to it. He felt like he was slipping deeper into a pool of numbness and becoming more of an observer at this point. It almost felt like flying as he zipped through the city. Getting into the part of the city with the densely packed buildings, he decided to parkour across the rooftops, moving out of pure instinct. There was a rush of leaping over large gaps, clearing a city street in a single leap, rolling with the landing, and keep going, never breaking his stride. It didn't give him the same sense of flying that web swinging did, but it made him feel something different, something more primal. And in the instant that he heard the sound of an alarm go off, that primal force took over, sending Peter's consciousness into obliviousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter awoke with every muscle in his body aching. How long did he fight for last night? The young hero rolled over and flipped open his laptop giving a quick glance at his email. Well he had sent The Bugle pictures from 6 different fights raging from the average purse snatching to a robbery of a jewelry store where the men wore flimsy plastic masks of cartoon characters. It didn't take much to figure out which even his boss was going to run with. Either way, he still got $500 bucks out of it. Man, he should really try to set up a direct deposit for J.J.J., what a shame he needed a guardian to open one up for him though. Oh well, Peter had enough to think about as he scrambled out of bed.

The teenager stretched and let out a pain filled groan. He let out another groan of annoyance as he heard his cell phone go off with a text. Flipping it open, he realized it was his work phone. Grabbing out the right phone, he flipped it open and read the message. Throwing on some clothes, Peter rushed out the door to his rooms and took the stairs two at a time. The man who ran the boy's home Peter lived in threw out his arm to stop the boy. Luckily with Peter's spider-sense, he was able to stop in time before dragging the poor man half a block with him.

"Well good morning-" the man glanced at his watch "-afternoon to you Peter. Would you please come to my office for a moment?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, "Well you see I'm on my way to the Daily Bu-"

Peter was cut off by the man. "No Peter, whatever it is, it can wait. Mr. Murdock wants to speak with you."

Adrenaline rushed through the young teens body. Mr. Murdock, a former resident at Saint Agnes Orphanage always closely worked with the kids here, trying to get them adopted and out of trouble. Was he in some sort of trouble? Or maybe it was a good news. He hoped it was good news. Peter really needed to have just one good thing going for him right now. His stomach churned like a washing machine on the spin cycle and he felt a lump in his throat as he approached the office.

Peter had just walked into the room when the blind lawyer greeted him. "Hello Peter, please take a seat."

* * *

Flint's stomach churned as he sat at the table with the rest of the Sinister 6. He hoped that he wasn't going to be playing a big roll in this scheme. He couldn't afford to be in jail, not after the choice he made yesterday. Flint knew if he messed up, it would not end well for his son, either because he wouldn't be able to see him, or worse, his son would be hurt or killed. He shouldn't have gone to Otto about his son, but the guy could pull strings Flint couldn't have never even known about. Oh, well, it was too late to do anything about it now. He was in this now. All he could do was hope that things were going to work out.

"Gentlemen." Otto said, trying to get the group's attention. "We need a change in our approach in how we take over New York. Focusing on the arachnid and his elimination had not been beneficial to us in the past. However, I have developed a new strategy that will take the cursed spider so off guard that by the time he realizes what is happening, it will be all too late for him to stop us."

"And how do you reckon we go about doing that?" Shocker asked, jabbing his pointer finger into the table for emphasis.

Otto smiled. "Easy gentlemen, phase one begins with a simple auction. Now, I will need a couple of volunteers to go with me for protection in case things go south."

The mad scientist's head tilted slightly towards Flint. His goggles were once again reflected any chance of Flint seeing the humanity behind them. But one thing was for sure, the scientist was implying that he wanted him as muscle.

* * *

Peter could feel his heart racing as he stared at the blind lawyer. Mr. Murdock was shuffling through a few papers that appeared to be blank, but upon closer inspection were actually written in braille. A second later, a packet of paper with print on it was pulled out of a brief case and slid to Peter.

"An associate of you father reached out to me, Mr. Parker." Mr. Murdock said.

Peter felt like he had been smacked to the ground by Sandman. "My father as in my-"

"Your biological father, yes. He wants to meet you."

 _After all this time, he finally reaches out to me._

 _ **Yeah, after years of being neglected by the man. Nothing good is going to come of**_ _**this.**_

"His record has been clean for the past ten years and so the court has approved of this interaction. If things continue to go well, I can be sure that there is a chance that he could get custody of you."

Peter went to open his mouth to respond, but the blind lawyer cut him off. "Close your mouth Peter and listen to me, please."

 _Man that guy can be scary. It sometimes seems like the guy isn't even blind at all. Sometimes it's almost like he has his own sort of spider sense or something._

"I know that in a couple of months that you are turning seventeen and are wanting to get emancipated, but under the current state law you can't. You still need permission from your legal guardian."

"So I either wait it out and be bounced around again and again for the next year or I'm stuck with someone who just now wants something to do with me unless I convince him to let me be emancipated. Great." Peter huffed and slid down in his seat.

Mr. Murdock shook his head. "Come on Peter, sit up straight. I know it sucks, trust me I've-"

"-been bounced around a lot too and know exactly what you've been going through. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You say the exact same thing every time."

The lawyer sighed, "I know. Either way things will work out. It might take longer than you want, but things will work out. Trust me."

 ** _Yeah right. Things never work out for us. It's the story of our life._**

* * *

Vulture looked at Otto thoughtfully. "I'll go along with this if I know what we're bidding on."

Flint sighed inwardly with relief. He hoped that someone else, anyone else would volunteer as well. He waited. Wait, why wasn't Electro jumping on this? If anyone it should have been that guy, he practically worshiped the ground Otto walked on. Oh no, he was getting glances his way from the rest of the table.

"Yeah, and I know who's going to be there so I know who I'm going up against."

A shiver ran down Flint's spine when he saw Otto smile. He had played right into the scientist's hand, and Flint knew it.


	4. Chapter 4

Flint's stomach was churning. He was going to be seeing his son this morning and he had no idea how it was going to go down. There were so many ways the resentment his son was sure to have were going to play out. How many ways would he either quickly qet over his anger, or hide it beneath the surface, maybe he would be vocal about and that would likely be for quite some time. Flint wished he knew how this was going to turn out so he could figure out how he himself should respond.

As Flint left the hide out to head towards the meeting spot, he was amazed with how quickly was able to pull these strings. If only Otto's ability to end the meeting as quickly as possible was as amazing as well. Then he would be able to meet with his son one time. Still, Flint had to be wary at how well Otto could manipulate the strings without him ever knowing.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he was able to turn himself into William Baker, the man he had once been before taking on the alias known as Flint Marko. At least the new name made is crimes as Sandman unknown to anyone. With any luck, his son would never find out the awful truth.

He pulled out the cell phone given to him by Otto and dialed the number of the lawyer who managed to get the meeting set up. "Mr. Murdock? This is Peter's father, William Baker. "

* * *

Peter leaned into his seat crossing his arms. This meeting was going to be happening whether he liked it or not and Mr. Murdock's cell phone began ringing.

"Mathew Murdock speaking." There was a pause. "Oh hello Mr. Baker."

Another long pause. Maybe his father had changed his mind. Well that meant he could return his boss' call and see what he had wanted. Peter hoped it was another simple job, but he had a suspicious feeling in his stomach that this phone call meant this next job was going to be a bit more than that.

Peter had been so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice the lawyer put his phone away.

"So, is he showing up here or what?" Peter said looking around the room, trying to find any hint of his father's expected presence.

Mr. Murdock had begun placing the papers back into his briefcase. "You're father was in a meeting that ran late. He's wanting to meet up with you at the Silverspoon to talk with you."

 _Great, of course a public place where I can't give him a proper telling off. At least it's fairly close to work._

 _"_ Fine, I'll go, but it's mostly because I was heading in that direction any how." Peter said, getting out of the chair.

Mr. Murdock came around the desk and shook his hand. It was a firm, but almost comforting grip. There was a genuine hopeful smile on the man's face.

"I wish you luck Peter."

No long speech on how this meeting should be the beginning of placing the groundwork of their new relationship, no advice saying how he had to keep that temper of his calmed. But it was everything that needed to be said, summed up in five words. And it was nice.

* * *

Spider-Man felt the breeze whip around him as he swung through the tall buildings of New York City. He needed to clear his head before he met his father. Every fiber of his being surges with emotion. He was brimming with anger, resentment, nervousness, but could feel a twinge of hope and relief at the back of his mind. Today would he the first time in years that he had seen his father and he wondered how this endeavors was going to turn out.

Spidey was pulled from his thoughts as he felt his cell vibrate. He quickly answered the phone, knowing that his boss wasn't the most patient men.

"The boss tried getting a hold of yah earlier."

A lump formed in Peter's stomach when he heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I know. Something came up." Spidey said quickly trying to calm the waters.

"Now you and I know that the boss has patience, but you're wearing it quite thin today. Do you think you can be in to meet him in two hours?"

Peter knew that the only answer that was allowed to be said. "Front door or window?"

Peter could almost hear the smile on the other end of the line. "Whichever, do long as you're here on time kid."

The line went dead.

Spider-Man sighed and did a flip in the air aw he swung to to his mind off of work. Maybe he should try to enjoy a chance to reconnect with his father, view it as a joyous were finally able to see each other after so many years. What would his dad be like? Would he be like the father he always hoped he'd have. The ideal father he always imagined when he though of a timeline where he had lived a normal life, not one where his father went away or his mother died.

 _ **We wouldn't have to imagine if he hadn't gotten himself into trouble. How could he ever come close to the father we always hoped for? No, he's just going to disappoint us. !0 years of behavior is not going to change out of the blue. This is too sudden. If it was genuine, he would have tried getting in touch with us way before even trying to get his parental rights back. How could anyone know if he's actually changed or if this is something that's going to change in two months once he slips back into old habits or the novelty of being with his son wears off.**_

 _The novelty of being with his son wears off..._

No, how could it such a feeling wear off? He's his father and was going to finally be _allowed_ to be his parent again. It wasn't his choice to loose custody over him.

 _ **No, he chose crime over his son before, who's to say it's not going to happen again in a few months. He'll realize how awful we are as someone's son. Why else would we not have gotten adopted? We aren't wanted. Everyone HATES us, wants us to be gone. They think we cause problems, but when things go wrong, they are the ones who want us to take care of the mess because they can't! That's always been our lives.**_

Spider-Man let go of his web mid swing and landed on top of the access door on a rooftop a few feet below him. It was almost as if his body was moving on auto pilot as he sat down, and holding his head.

 _but we owe and obligation to this city, to it's people, even the world. With great-_

 _ **power comes great responsibility, but we are a power that the public is abusing. They only use us when they need to and then treat us like we are nothing when we no longer serve a purpose. Everyone in our life has been that way. It's time we wake up and face reality.**_

It was like everything went numb like a button was pressed that shut off all senses and emotions. A stronger sense of numbness tingled up and down his body as though he were being shocked and he stood up. And in a breath, he took off.

Spider-Man leaped from rooftop to rooftop of the busy New York City block, just running, leaping, and bouncing, and most importantly using his legs and releasing their pent up energy. While his arms never felt worn out from web swinging, There was a certain freeing quality that came with unleashing the rarely used energy in his legs. And that energy was taking him in the opposite direction of his father.


	5. Chapter 5

**Whelp, we finally made it to chapter 5. Also, sorry for any typos, as I can only type this on my phone. I don't always pick up on the auto correct or the innacurate keyboard typos.**

* * *

Knuckles collided with skulls if would be thieves as the bank alarm blared. With a couple quick taps, webs were dispersed across the criminals. A quick simple round of crime fighting was just what the teenaged hero needed to clear his head. Seeing the job well done, Spidey took off for the Manhattan skyline.

Peter sighed to himself. He probably should go back to meet his father. At the very least he could try to convince him to think about emancipation. It wouldn't happen overnight, that was sure, but planting that seed right away could be beneficial.

 _ **The sooner we are on our own the better.**_

 _Let's get this done and over with. Besides who knows what the boss needs us for and_ _it wouldn't be wise to anger him, especially after the debacle a few weeks ago._

 _ **Even though it wasn't our fault**._

* * *

Will took a deep breath as he entered the coffee shop. The aroma of the freshly ground coffee beans hung in the air. It was such a calming smell and it was sure to help him was his mind after the long meeting he had just gotten out.

He looked around to see if his son had beaten him here, but apparently it was not the case. Will wondered when he would show up. He would, sooner or later. There was no room for doubt in Will's mind, there couldn't be. There had to be that thread of hope, for that one good thing in his life. There was too much chaos, too much pain spread by being Sandman and Flint Marko that things _needed_ to go fine for William. Things needed to be set right. It was the only aspect in his life that he could possibly do so.

The hanging bell on the door rang, signaling the entrance of a customer to the coffee shop. Will's heart raced and skidded back to a halt upon seeing some Wallstreet guy come in rapidly talking on his blue tooth rate piece. Bur Will's eyes were drawn to the glass windows showing off the busy New York street and his eyes saw him.

His soother.n was so much older than the last time they had seen each other. Some of his son's facial features from his childhood ere still recognizable to Will. Although, he was surprised to see just how short his son was despite how old he was. He must have gotten his mother's height.

* * *

Peter stepped into the coffee shop, becoming enveloped in it's heat. His stomach twisted and turned as he neared the second he would finally see his father again. He was going to have to figure out what emotion he was going to have when he met him fast. Was he going to forgive his father, move onto a fresh slate, let the past be the past? Maybe they could reconnect and make some new kind of father son bond. They could have a chance to-

 _ **Get our hopes broken? There's nothing worse than having your emotions destroyed by someone meant to care for you. They know just how to let us down. Family is a weakness.**_

And then Peter saw the look on his father's face. It was a mix of hope, fear, and sadness. The years apart must have been hard on his father as well. Maybe life was more complicated than Peter had thought. But there was something else too, something Peter couldn't put his finger on. It was like his body was warning him about something but his spider sense wasn't going off.

"Want a coffee?" His dad asked.

* * *

Will and Peter sat down at a booth, both of them staring at their coffees. Will took a long breath.

"I know that there's nothing that I can say or do that will change the past. And for the past few years, I haven't been in a position to be a proper parent."

Will looked at his son, trying to gauge his reaction. The teenager's expression looked cool and collected at the current moment. Will decided to keep talking.

"Well within the month I should be able to, well we would-" Will sighed as his words struggled to come out. "I'm getting an apartment in town and a good enough job that I can finally be the parent I should have been a long time ago."

"You're going to have to give me some independence of my own. I'm almost seventeen. As long as you can do that, giving me a reasonable amount of space, then fine." Peter said.

Will could tell his son was already trying to push his limits, but the boy was right. He couldn't go full parent right away, they needed to test the waters with their relationship and feel it out. It would take time, but it would get there, eventually.

* * *

 _That went better than I'd thought._ Peter thought as he had left the coffee shop. He glanced at his phone. He had fifteen minutes to make it to his boss's office. It was enough time to walk, no need to web swing. Besides he was looking forward to the heated elevator ride.

It wasn't long before he saw the skyscraper that belonged to his boss. Entering the building, the teenager was enveloped in warmth. He walked over to the front desk and signed in before heading to the elevator. Upon seeing that the elevator was not empty, his stomach started churning.

 _Welp, I'm in trouble._

The door closed and a ringer finger belonging to his boss's right hand man pushed the button for the top floor.

"Glad to see you made it early kid. The boss has been expecting ya."


	6. Chapter 6

Will walked out of the coffee shop feeling that their meeting had gone far better than expected. Sure they didn't really have the time to catch up, but it was a start to the long road ahead of them. Still, Will couldn't keep Friday's plans from nagging at the back corners of his mind throughout the whole meeting.

So much had to go right while so much could go wrong. All Will new was that after the auction and Otto's grand plan for a Valentine's day event, Flint Marko was retiring. Once Flint Marko had blown off into the wind forever, everything would be right as rain. He and his son could connect with no more distractions, no more secret identities. Big Man and every other thing having to do with the world of heroes and villains would be out the door. Speaking of which, he better get started looking for an apartment.

William flipped through the relator's book looking for the right place. Money was no option once Otto let him go. He had already earned enough favor with Otto to secure a decent retirement check. The page of the book flipped open to a luxury apartment downtown insight of Oscorp and the Big Man's skyscraper. A chill washed over Will upon seeing that image. If Will was ever going to disappear into the wind with his kid, they were going to have to leave the city and not leave a trail that even Otto could track.

* * *

Peter's heart pounded in his chest as he watched Hammerhead's expression. There was nothing Peter could go off of. This man would probably be an excellent poker player.

"I told you I'd be here right?" Peter joked. "Also, I thought that you should know Flint ran into me last night."

Hammerhead raised an eyebrow. "'s that so. Huh, well at least he ain't dead. He's still worth more alive than not, least for now that is."

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. "Again, sorry for screwing it up. You should have told me to stay away."

Hammerhead held up his hand and waved it away dismissively. "Water under the bridge, besides, the boss took out the difference from your bank account so it's all good for. Now, forget about that mess and focus on what the boss is going to talk you about now."

Peter nodded and calmed the raging ocean of anxiety in his head. Things were going well already, no scuffles in the elevator. Everything was fine.

 _Everything is going to be fine, just fine_.

The momentum of the elevator slowed and came to a slow stop. With a pleasant ding, the doors opened revealing the hallway to the big man's office. The walk down the hallway began to stir up the anxiety beneath the surface. Peter knew that he should have just come in through the window. He'd be in his suit and could hide his face beneath his mask. Oh why did he have to give that up for twenty extra seconds of warmth?

Peter could feel the symbiote expand from the watch it disguised itself as and slink up underneath his jacket. It was like being dipped into cold water, but it was calming. it was getting his head in the right space for the meeting with his boss.

 _ **Everything is just fine. We are fine.**_

Peter stepped into the room and locked eyes on the Big Man. His boss wasn't looking for any hint of weakness or nerves. No, he knew that Hammerhead would take care of that petty mess so they could get down to brass tax, and get the debriefings over as soon as possible. Anything dealing with the Sandman debacle was long gone. And it was just how the Big Man liked it. No need to micromanage after all.

"I was wondering if you had any plans for this Friday." The Big Man said, not giving Peter a chance to reply, he continued. "The Rhino suit specs are up for auction."

Had Peter not been under the influence of the symbiote, he probably would have gone wide-eyed at the information. Fortunately, Peter didn't need to wear a mask to hide his face, his face could be the mask. With that realization, Peter could almost hear the voice of the Green Goblin whisper in his ear.

 _We all wear masks Spider-Man. But which one is real, the one that hides your face, or the one that_ **_is_** _your face?_

 _ **We've been wearing masks long before we were Spider-Man.**_

The symbiote was right. They had other things to worry about, like the Rhino specs being dangled out to the worlds wealthy and elite to be used as playthings. If the wrong person got ahold of those specs, they could be used to make an army or armored rhino mercenaries and take over the city. Right, much bigger priorities.

Peter crossed his arms, showing interest. The Big Man smiled.

"I'll take that as a no then?"

* * *

Otto stared at the pictures on screen in front of him. In his mind, the genius could see the chess pieces fall into place. Simulation after simulation ran through the neurons of Otto as he took in every possibility that could unfold over the next couple of months. He needed to have a plan for everything. He knew Flint was planning on taking off as soon as this mission was over, but Otto liked having a complete chess set, at least until it was time to sacrifice the right pice to take out the right opponent. No, using his son and fighting for custody would be the leash that would keep his first creation at his side, all the while protecting the plans for his second creation. Even going long term, next month's plan was going to require heavy hitters to ensure a smooth transition while keeping another threat underfoot.

All of this would be of the utmost importance, especially if Otto's nagging intuition was correct about one small detail. He wondered if either of the other parties in his "theory" were even aware of the possibility. No, Otto would have to see how things would play out. At least he had a plan for everything and could adjust it accordingly.

Otto pressed a button, the screen changed to a live feed. "Kraven, would you please come to my office for a moment. It would be greatly appreciated."

The scientist smiled. In the end, Otto knew that he would have his day.


End file.
